Brian and Janette --the2skinnys--: "T" is for Thelma

Thelma is my Granny and she is so very special to me. In fact, she is the queen of my dad's family. There isn't a child or grandchild that doesn't absolutely worship Granny. But, her charisma and amiability extend well beyond her family--her neighborhood and ward absolutely love her, too. There isn't a week that passes by that Granny goes without a visit from a friend, receives numerous cards via the mail, gets a bouquet of flowers, or has dinner brought to her home. I'm telling you, people love her! I've often asked myself, "What has Granny done in her life that has caused so many people to love her the way they do?" This past weekend, I had a chance to ponder over this very question for quite some time...and I think I finally answered it...for myself anyway.
When I am with Granny, I literally feel like I am the most important person in the world to her. It's as if she lives vicariously through me and everything about my life is so exciting to her--and nothing could be more important. Because of this, I've often joked that I am her favorite grandchild and then I learned that all of her grandchildren feel that way! Her love for me is so overwhelming, so endearing, unadulterated and completely without guile. She doesn't expect anything in return. She loves without condition, but when you're off track, she'll let you know it without hesitation. And all the while, you'll never doubt her love for you. I once heard my Uncle Dave say, "No other love prepared me more to understand and feel the love of my Savior than that of my mother's." I couldn't agree more! Granny does love as the Savior loves, and for this very reason, I believe people are drawn to her. They long to be near her, to serve her and to learn from her. She is very special indeed.
I will always treasure the summer that I lived with Granny. I was doing an internship in Mesa over the summer break. Granny and I became great friends. We shared several heart-felt moments. We sang together, read together, worried about family members together, played games together, and most of all, laughed together! Granny has a wit about her that will make a comedian bust a gut! Honestly, this post could go on forever, so to sum it all up...I'll do a bullet list of some of the reasons why I love her.

Her competitive edge
Her incredible posterity (she's raised some jewels!)
That contagious laugh...especially when she's laughing at one of her own jokes
Because of the way she loves me (enough said on this already)
She's an example of perseverance--how she raised 7 children and braved through a heartbreaking divorce when the oldest was only 17
Her example of service
She's absolutely gorgeous (it always makes me happy when someone tells me I look like Granny)
Her sense of style and fashion
Tea Parties! (We just had one this past weekend with all of the girl cousins and cousins-in-law. It was so great! It wasn't a real tea party of course..lots of food, but no tea!)
The way she tells a story...so animated!
She's a prankster
She raised my wonderful father!